


starless eyes for heaven's sake, but i hear you anyway

by ironicbird



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Superboy (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bruce is a good dad, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Tim Drake-centric, damian is kinda a jerk to tim but theyre working on it, takes place before the new 52
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25867336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironicbird/pseuds/ironicbird
Summary: Tim always wrote notes on his arms.It was a bad habit really, but one Tim had never fully been able to shake. He had tried carrying around a little pocketbook to write his notes in instead, but he always found himself resorting back to his arms. They were just too convenient.In a world where anything written on one soulmate's skin appears on the other, it's probably not the best idea for a costumed crime-fighter to write sensitive information on his arms. Of course, Tim always uses a code that only he knows but it doesn't matter that much anyways. Tim doesn't have a soulmate.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, very background Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle but you kinda got to squint
Comments: 17
Kudos: 532





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so in this AU, Conner never changed his costume to the t-shirt and jeans look. He keeps the black jacket look. Otherwise, there’s a bit of a plothole lol.
> 
> Also, this takes place roughly preboot, but after Bruce has come back from being lost in time. You know, that sweet part right before the New-52 ruined everything. (I’m not salty). But of course, it’s an AU so there are some things that may be slightly different.
> 
> The title comes from "This Is The Best Day Ever" by My Chemical Romance
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy. This is my first contribution to the DC comics fandom and the first time I’ve done any legitimate fanfic writing in a few years so please ignore my rustiness.
> 
> Not beta’d, we die like Robins.

Tim always wrote notes on his arms.

It was a bad habit really, but one Tim had never fully been able to shake. He had tried carrying around a little pocketbook to write his notes in instead, but he always found himself resorting back to his arms. They were just too convenient.

The content of the notes varied. Sometimes, they were reminders of things he needed to pick up at the store or events he needed to remember to go to. Other times they were notes related to a case so that he could keep all of his thoughts in order. Back when he was following the adventures of Batman and Robin, he would write notes about that night on his arms and transfer them to a detailed log when he returned home. All of his notes were always written in a code that he had designed when he was a child and that only he knew. It was too risky to write his notes in plain English where any villain who captured him could read. Of course, there was another reason that Tim tended to ignore.

Soulmates. Whatever one soulmate wrote on their skin would show up on the other soulmate’s skin. In another life, it could’ve been romantic. But in Tim’s line of work, it could be a liability. Any sort of personally identifiable mark unwittingly appearing on one’s skin at any random moment just isn’t ideal for a vigilante with a secret identity. The potential of having a soulmate was yet another reason that Tim wrote his notes in code.

Tim was 95.6% certain that he did not have a soulmate. His parents had made him write his name and contact information on his arm every year growing up. Never once had he gotten a response. They had tried every language and form of communication they could of think to try. Still, no response. His parents had given up after he turned 10. They were concerned about the potential age gap if his soulmate had not been born by that point and how that would reflect on their company. They told him to pretend that he had a soulmate if anyone asked. Which of course, people did. He received many comments from his parents’ acquaintances about how much of a catch he was and how lucky his soulmate was. Tim always just nodded and made up information about a fake soulmate if prodded further.

Bruce had seemed pleased when Tim had told him about the lack of soulmate, back during Tim’s Robin days. He had said that at least Tim wouldn’t have to worry about that potential liability in the field. Bruce had enough problems with his soulmate drawing little hearts and cat paw prints on his face to teasingly antagonize him when he was out in the field. But Tim could see a sadness in Bruce’s eyes as he said it. It wasn’t until later that Tim realized Bruce felt sorry for him.

Of course, not having a soulmate didn’t bother Tim. Not anymore at least. He had grown out of caring about soulmates. He was perfectly content with keeping busy with his work. Most of his school friends had found theirs by this point so they assumed he had too and kept most the questions to themselves. His Teen Titans friends just assumed that his reluctance to share information about his soulmate stemmed from his tendency to keep personal secrets. The Batfamily all knew about his soulmate status, so they had no reason to push Tim on the issue. Of course, that didn’t stop Damian from getting a jab in about the topic every now and again.

“I still do not understand why Father is allowing you to take such a large role at Wayne Enterprises. You could never truly be his heir without a soulmate.”

Tim sighed and ran his fingers through his hair to keep himself from punching the brat. He had just popped by the Batcave temporarily to use the computer. Tim, of course, had his own computer station set up at his own place. But the Batcave computer was just faster for certain things, so he still went by the cave on occasion to use it. He had been hoping that Batman and Robin would be still out on patrol, but unfortunately for Tim, it had been a slow night in Gotham.

“Damian, that is uncalled for,” Bruce scolded as he was putting away his gear.

“It’s alright, I’ve learned to tune out his voice by this point,” Tim responded.

“Your response to my previous statement implies that you have not succeeded, Drake,” Damian retorted.

“Bruce, did you hear something? I only heard-“

“Enough, you two,” Bruce interrupted, trying to prevent the two boys from going at each other with actual weapons again, “Damian, go upstairs and get some rest. You still have school tomorrow.”

“Tt,” Damian grumbled as he made his way out of the cave. He turned back once to throw one last piercing look at Tim, but a glare from Bruce led to Damian continuing his ascent up the stairs. Tim paid Damian no notice and returned to his work.

When Damian was safely out of the cave, Bruce walked up behind Tim and peered over his shoulder.

“Still writing notes on your arms, I see,” Bruce said.

Tim looked down to see a pen in one hand and notes on the other. He hadn’t even processed that he was doing it. Again, it was just something so mundane to Tim. Grass is green, the sun rises in the east, and Tim Drake writes on his arm. The corner of his mouth curved upwards in a slight smirk as he huffed out a breath.

“Old habits die hard,” he said.

Bruce said nothing in response, just watched as Tim continued his research on the computer. Not a word passed between the two of them for minutes. Tim was used to this, Batman’s brooding. It usually just meant that Bruce was lost in his own thoughts, something that Tim could relate to. Tim was guilty of it as well, as his Titans friends frequently mentioned. When he had first become Robin, the silence that occurred when Bruce was deep in thought had sometimes made Tim uneasy and slightly intimidated. Now, Tim understood the brooding not as a stillness, but a rush of information being processed in one’s mind. The quiet calmed Tim because he knew that it meant Bruce was thinking about something important and coming up with a plan.

Tim finished up his work and unplugged his flash drive from the computer. He would be able to take the data he collected back to his own station to finish up. He rolled his sleeves back down and got up from his seat to leave. But before Tim could get far, he was stopped by Bruce putting a hand on his shoulder. Tim turned to face him.

“You know you have nothing to prove to me,” Bruce said, staring directly into Tim’s eyes.

“I know,” Tim said with a nod.

“Soulmate or no, you are my son, and I’m proud of you.”

Tim felt his breath hitch. Damian’s comments must have struck a stronger chord with Bruce than it had with Tim. Tim was used to letting remarks about his lack of soulmate roll off of his back. His parents had made plenty of nasty ones. It seemed Bruce still harbored a sympathy for Tim that had been brought back to the forefront by Damian’s statement earlier. Tim always knew that Bruce cared about him and was proud of him. But it wasn’t often that Bruce actually said it.

“I know, Bruce,” Tim said softly, to indicate that he was comforted by Bruce’s remarks, “Thanks.”

Bruce nodded and released his hand from Tim’s shoulder. Tim dipped his head and slipped his cowl back over his face. He began making his way back to the motorcycle he had rode into the cave earlier.

“Tim,” Bruce called out as Tim threw his leg over the seat of the bike.

“Yes?” Tim responded.

“You should come by the manor more often. It’s good to get to see you.”

Tim slid his motorcycle helmet over his head, “As long as you can keep Damian from killing me.”

“Damian is making progress, but it takes time to get through all the things the League filled his head with,” Bruce replied, “He is improving.”

“I know,” Tim said, “He doesn’t immediately try to kill me anymore. He at least thinks about it first.”

“We’re making progress,” Bruce reiterated.

Tim nodded and turned the ignition on his motorcycle. He waved a farewell to Bruce before he revved his engine and made his way out of the cave. He could feel Bruce’s gaze on his back as he left.

Tim shot out of the cave and into the cold, evening air. It felt fresh on Tim’s face. The wind whistled past his ears, fluttering his cape as he sped down the road. Bruce did his best introspection in the calm. He would reflect when he was on the rooftops of Gotham, in quiet moments in the cave, or at his parents’ graves. Tim did his best introspection in the rush, with buildings and trees hurtling past him and the purr of his motorcycle engine drowning out all of the other noises of the city.

In this moment, in this rush, Tim reflected on Damian’s comments. It had been a while since he allowed himself to feel anything related to his soulmate. He had hardened his heart to the idea of it, as that sort of self-wallowing pity had no place in his sort of work. Damian’s remark had no emotional effect on Tim, but he did understand it’s logic. Not everyone married their soulmate, but the vast majority did. Even his parents, who had a tumultuous relationship, had been soulmates. Non-soulmate marriages did occur, but they were considered rather taboo. Not something that was considered appropriate for any sort of executive in the business world. Tim basically had two options, never get married and keep his position at WE, or marry a non-soulmate and have to step down from the company. Of course, Bruce had told Tim that he would never force Tim out of the company, even if Tim married a non-soulmate. But Tim knew it would have consequences on WE that he just couldn’t live with.

Of course, Tim had dated in the past. Ariana, Stephanie, Zoanne, Tam (kinda). None of them had lasted long. He had tried to make an effort to make it last, but the fact that he was not soulmates with any of them kept the relationships from really going to the next level. The only one Tim even still kept contact with was Stephanie, but that was mostly because they still worked together. They were still friends, but it was clear they would never be anything more. Tim just wouldn’t have a real, lasting relationship with anyone.

There was one time that Tim had dared to hope. The one incident that dropped his certainty that he did not have a soulmate from 99.9% to its current value of 95.6%. It had happened in his early teens, not long after he had first become Robin. Tim had been writing his usual notes on his arm when he thought he saw a large question mark written on his left thumb for a split second that he did not write. Then, he blinked and it was gone. Tim had run to the Batcave and run every sort of test he could think of. He also put his hand under every wavelength of light he could think of to see if there was any sort of trace of said question mark. He found nothing. That had been the day he had told Bruce about his lack of soulmate because Bruce had walked in on him in the middle of this. Tim ended up chalking the whole experience up to some sort of hallucination, possibly due to lack of sleep. But a small, treacherous part of him dared to hope that it was a sign that he did in fact have a soulmate.

Tim squeezed the brakes on his motorcycle as he pulled up to his own base of operations. The ride had felt like no time at all, as it tended to be when he got all introspective. Tim was glad that he got all of the soulmate reflection out of the way, as now he needed to focus on work. He parked the bike and took out the flash drive that he had copied the data on from the Batcave computer. He plugged the drive into his own computer system and sat down to work. The data cache was rather large, so it would take some time to download and get all of the information into his system. Tim took the time to glance at his phone and he saw that he had a message from Conner.

It was a picture of his friends in the Titans Compound. Gar and Bart were fighting over a bowl of popcorn as Cassie was trying to get them to stop. Gar was shifted into elephant form and holding the bowl of popcorn in his trunk above Bart’s head. Rose was seated on the couch, sharpening her swords, paying no mind to the popcorn fight. A movie seemed to be playing on the screen in the background but was largely ignored by the group. Conner was in the foreground, holding the phone out like a selfie, and looking directly at the camera while winking and holding a thumbs up.

**Conner – 10:56 pm**

**(Image)**

**sorry you couldn’t make it out to san francisco this weekend. you’re missing movie night**

Tim’s mouth shifted into a soft smile as he took in the scene depicted in the image. It felt so normal, which is something that he had rarely felt since Conner and Bart had died. Tim had wanted to go to the Tower this weekend, but the case he was currently working on had caused him to remain in Gotham until it was finished. He hadn’t gone on many Titans functions since he re-joined the team, and once Tim wrapped up the case he was working on, he wanted to change that.

**Tim – 1:45 am**

**I’ll see if I can make it out there next weekend. Someone needs to make sure you all don’t destroy the place over a popcorn dispute.**

Tim didn’t expect Conner to answer immediately, since it had taken Tim almost 3 hours to respond to Conner’s initial text. So, he was surprised when he saw the three dots that meant Conner was typing.

**Conner – 1:46 am**

**cassie is doing a pretty good job of that, but she could probably use some help**

**Tim – 1:47 am**

**You won’t help her?**

**Conner – 1:47 am**

**nope, it’s too much fun watching the action**

**Conner – 1:48 am**

**plus, it’s all the more reason you should come out here next weekend**

**Tim – 1:48 am**

**So, leave it to me to be the responsible one?**

**Conner – 1:48 am**

**yep**

An alert noise from Tim’s computer caused him to look up from his phone. His computer had finished transferring the data from his flash drive to his computer.

**Tim – 1:49 am**

**I’ll do my best to come next weekend. But I have to finish up what I’m working on here. I’ll talk to you later.**

**Conner – 1:50 am**

**good luck. and if there’s anything i can do to help, let me know**

**Tim – 1:51 am**

**Will do. Just keep the Tower in one piece.**

**Conner – 1:51 am**

**no promises**

Tim smiled. It was still incredible to Tim, having Conner and Bart back. Tim no longer felt the full weight of those ghosts on his shoulder. Tim has had a lot of ghosts looming over his conscience, and Conner and Bart had been some of the heaviest ones along with Stephanie (who had also come back) and his parents. Something about having Conner, Bart, and Stephanie back made Tim feel more complete, and less like he had to search for something to fill an aching hole in his chest.

Tim turned his attention back to his work. He had a lot of data to shift through to find what he was looking for. It would take hours and he needed to get it done if he wanted to have any chance of making it out to San Francisco next weekend. It was mind numbing work, sifting through lists of possible suspects and alibis and location tracking data and evidence logged in the GCPD database and…

Tim felt his eyes beginning to close of their own will. Tim cursed his body for betraying him. He still had work to do. He couldn’t fall asleep now. He couldn’t…

Despite his best efforts, Tim found himself slumped over his keyboard as the morning sunlight streamed through the window and onto his face. He had a line drawn across the notes on his arm from where his pen slipped as he had lost consciousness. Tim glanced at the clock on his computer and saw that it read 7:17 am. He had been asleep for almost four and a half hours. It was more than he usually got while working on a case.

An alert flashing on his computer told Tim that one of the the algorithms that he had set up while working last night had found a possible lead among the data. It had narrowed the suspect list down from hundreds of candidates to only three. Perhaps Tim would be able to make it out to San Francisco next weekend after all, depending on how long it took to follow up on these three leads.

Surprisingly, it ended up not taking long at all. The first suspect Tim investigated confessed to the whole thing. The man apparently had previous run ins with both Batman and Cass when she had been Batgirl and was not eager to get beating from another Bat. But Tim took his time to look over the man’s files to ensure that he was the correct perpetrator. Sometimes, fear was a good interrogation tactic, but it could also lead to innocent people confessing to crimes simply to avoid further trouble. Everything Tim found pointed to this man being the man that Tim was looking for. Tim left the man in cuffs and a flash drive full of evidence tied up in a little bow as a present for the GCPD. One quick call to them and the matter was officially out of Tim’s hands. Case closed. He had nothing left at the moment keeping him in Gotham for the weekend.

**Tim – 9:55 pm**

**I think I might make it out to San Francisco this weekend after all.**

**Conner – 9:56 pm**

**can’t wait to see you. i haven’t gotten to beat you in super smash bros in a long time**

**Tim – 9:57 pm**

**Have you ever beaten me in Smash? I’m pretty sure I always win.**

**Conner – 9:57 pm**

**only because you won’t count it when i use my super speed**

**Tim – 9:58 pm**

**Super speed is cheating.**

**Conner – 9:58 pm**

**where does it say that in the rules**

**Tim – 9:58 pm**

**It’s in the rules of fairness.**

**Conner – 9:59 pm**

**:P**

**Tim – 9:59 pm**

**See you soon.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim’s case that he was working on is ambiguous and not super detailed because I didn’t want it to be the main focus of the story. If any facts are wrong from the comics, I’m sorry. I’ve read a TON of comics related to these characters but it is a lot to keep straight. I used the DC wiki as much as I could while writing too. I also don’t know much about computers and I believe that shows too lol. And I know Damian was a bit nasty to Tim, but this was still kinda early in their relationship, when they were still pretty hostile to each other.
> 
> This chapter was a lot of exposition and rumination, I know, but I’m building up to the good stuff. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t rushing too badly as I tend to do when writing. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. This fic is already almost completed, it’s only 2 chapters total and Chapter 2 is almost done so I'll release it when I get it finished. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave feedback in the comments!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, I’m back with chapter 2. Did anyone else watch the DC Fandome? We’re getting Tim in the new Gotham Knights game and I can’t stop screaming about it. I was really hoping he would also show up in Titans S3, but they did not confirm it. However, they confirmed that Jason is becoming the Red Hood and the Titans team is going to Gotham so maybe??? Probably not but I can dream. 
> 
> When will DC make a Young Justice show with the OG Young Justice crew? I’m tired of seeing Conner show up in shows without Tim, Cassie, and Bart. (*cough* Titans and YJ season 1 *cough cough*). That is not to say that I don’t like Conner showing up in shows because I do, I just want the core four to all be together and be friends yknow? I love their dynamic and they've never really explored it outside of the comics. Anyways, I digress.
> 
> Chapter 1 was a lot of exposition and ruminations and basically me getting comfortable with writing Tim’s character in this AU. This chapter covers more of the meat of things. More of what I’m sure you are looking for. Hope you enjoy the concluding chapter of this fic and don’t forget to let me know what you thought at the end!

Tim would never get used to the super hugs.

His friends had gotten better about reigning in their super abilities when attacking him with various forms of hugs, but they still were not perfect. Bart’s whirlwind hug left Tim’s hair blown about in every possible direction. Cassie’s flying tackle hug left him with a bit of a bruise on his face where her shoulder had smacked into his cheek. Gar’s big ape hug left him smelling like he had been run over by an entire zoo.

“If we don’t get to see you for a while, you have to deal with the hugs,” Cassie had said when Tim had grumbled about smelling like a zoo.

“So, you’ll subject Raven to this when she returns from her personal spirit quest?” Tim asked.

“Nah, just you,” Bart replied.

Rose wasn’t really a hugger. Tim had given her a nod and she had returned the favor.

At least Conner had shown some restraint. He didn’t attack Tim with a flying tackle hug. Instead, he took one sniff in Tim’s general direction and said that Tim smelled so bad that his hug would have to come after Tim had taken a shower.

So, Tim made his way to the shower, to wash off both the ape hug and the plane ride. The notes he had made on his arm during the plane ride were also casualties of the shower, but they hadn’t really been anything important. Mostly just comments about the movie he had been watching on the plane. While in the shower, Tim heard a few crashes coming from the kitchen and he could hear Gar and Bart’s voices arguing about something again. It was a miracle sometimes, that the Tower was still standing.

When Tim emerged from the bathroom, whatever argument Gar and Bart had was finished. They were both seated on the couch, watching a nature documentary on the TV. Cassie was on the other couch, watching as well. Conner and Rose were nowhere to be found, presumably somewhere else in the tower.

“Hey Tim,” Cassie said as she saw Tim walk into the room, “Sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to bump your face like that.”

“It’s alright,” Tim replied, “On the scale of injuries I’ve ever suffered, this is very minor.”

Cassie grinned and then patted the seat next to her on the couch, inviting Tim to join the group in watching TV. As Tim made his way over to the couch, he noticed that Bart had his arms crossed and a pout on his face.

“Everything okay?” Tim asked, directed at Bart.

“I wanted to watch the new Star Adventures episode, but Gar insisted on watching his nature documentary,” Bart said sourly.

“It’s a good documentary and you might actually learn something,” Gar replied.

“But you’ve seen this before,” Bart argued.

“So?” Gar retorted, “I have seniority.”

“Boys!” Cassie exclaimed, “Let’s not rehash this argument again. I will lasso you both together until you get along if I need to.”

Gar and Bart both stuck their tongues out at Cassie, seemingly bonding over a common enemy. Tim smiled to himself. It was always nice to see his friends again, acting just like old times. Despite all that they had gone through in the past few years, the underlying fundamental aspects of the group did not change much over time.

The nature documentary was fairly dry, and Tim found himself wishing that Bart had won the argument earlier. It wasn’t entirely uninteresting, but it wasn’t incredibly engaging material either. Bart only lasted about 10 minutes on the couch before speeding off to his room to watch the newest episode of Star Adventures on his laptop. Cassie seemed fairly bored too and started nodding off on the couch. Only Gar remained fully invested with the program. Tim’s gaze flitted around the room as he took in the scene around him. Just being around his friends left him rather content.

Tim heard a noise to his right and looked towards the entrance to see Conner step into the room. Conner made a face at the nature documentary playing on the TV and then turned to look at Tim. His expression seemed to be saying, “Nature show again? Really?” Tim just gave a shrug and tilted his head to invite Conner to join the group. Conner shook his head and instead jerked his head towards the hallway he had just come from, indicating for Tim to follow him out there. Tim nodded.

“Well, you guys enjoy the rest of the documentary. If you need me, I’ll be around.” Tim said, despite the fact that no one was listening. Cassie was asleep and Gar was too focused on the program to care. Tim got up from the couch and followed Conner into the hallway.

“So, are you ready?” Conner asked, once they were fully in the hall.

“Ready for what?” Tim replied.

“For me to kick your ass in Super Smash,” Conner said, confidently.

Tim laughed, “You wish.”

They made their way down the hall to Conner’s room. Conner had his own smaller TV set up in his room with his game station, due to the fact that Gar and Bart both tended to hog the main TV. Conner swung the door open to his room and invited Tim to come inside.

“Hey, I’m going to go grab some snacks from the kitchen real quick,” Conner said once they were both in the room, “If you want to go ahead and start setting everything up.”

“Sounds good,” Tim responded.

Conner nodded before exiting the room. Tim walked over to the TV and game station and turned them both on, allowing the machines to boot up. Not much had changed in Conner’s room over the years. There were more things in it now than when Conner had first arrived. He hadn’t had much. Now, the shelves were filled with books, video games, pictures, knick knacks from Ma Kent, and even little trophies from various missions. But the fundamentals were the same. Conner still had the same set of sheets on his bed from when he first arrived. He still had the same studded jackets hanging in his closet. He still had the same framed picture of himself, Tim, and Bart back from when they first started Young Justice.

Tim located Conner’s collection of video games on a shelf and searched for the Super Smash Bros case. It was all the way down at the end, crammed between Conner’s copy of Grand Theft Auto V and what seemed to be a journal. The shelf was packed very tightly, so it took a bit of effort on Tim’s part to remove the game from where it was wedged on the shelf. He finally managed to remove the game, but his efforts sent the journal that had been sitting next to it tumbling to the ground.

Tim crouched down to pick up the journal when he felt his blood turn to ice. The journal had fallen face up on a random page when it had made its descent to the ground. A page that was filled from top to bottom with Tim’s code. The code that Tim had designed himself and never told anyone about in his entire life. Each entry had the date written besides it and it was all written in Conner’s own handwriting, eliminating the possibility that the journal could have come from Tim’s room.

Tim felt his heart start to race. How could Conner have possibly known about this? Had he snuck into Tim’s room and seen Tim’s journals? Had he watched Tim every time Tim wrote notes on his arm? Was it simply a coincidence?

Tim barely had time to think before Conner opened the door and entered the room. Conner had two bowls filled with various snacks, one in each of his hands. Conner’s gaze flicked down to the ground as he noticed Tim on the floor.

“Umm, you okay dude?” Conner said.

“How did you get this?” Tim asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Conner looked confused, “How did I get what?”

“This,” Tim said as he held the journal up for Conner to look for himself. Conner took the book and spent a moment flipping through the pages. His confused look turned into one of realization.

“Oh this,” Conner said nonchalantly, “It’s nothing really. Just some old notes.”

“Notes from what?” Tim asked.

“Why do you care so much? They’re just some old notes. I don’t even take those notes anymore.” Conner replied.

“They’re my notes,” Tim said softly, as a realization began dawning in his mind.

“What?” Conner asked, looking even more confused than before.

“They’re my notes,” Tim repeated louder than before.

“What are you trying to say?” Conner asked.

Tim developed a theory in his mind. A theory that he _needed_ to test. He jumped up off of the floor and began frantically searching Conner’s desk for any sort of ink-based writing utensil.

Conner set both bowls of snacks down on the dresser besides him, “Are you okay? You’re starting to scare me, man.”

“I’m fine, I just need to test something out,” Tim replied. He could feel his heart pounding into his head. His hands were shaking. His legs felt like jello. Tim was unnerved like he had never been before. He was usually the picture of keeping calm under pressure, but this pressure was unlike any Tim had ever experienced. It wasn’t the same sort of stress he experienced when he was put in life threatening danger. This stress was more of the earth shattering, life changing type.

Tim finally felt his hands close around the pen he was looking for. He pulled it out of the desk drawer he had opened and turned to face Conner.

“Take off your jacket,” Tim said to Conner.

“What? Why?” Conner asked.

“I’m testing a theory, and in order to do so I need you to take your jacket off,” Tim explained.

Conner looked wary, but he complied with Tim’s request. He pulled off his jacket and threw it onto his bed. Tim set down the pen on the desk and rolled up his sleeves. Conner threw another confused look at Tim, but Tim paid little mind. He was focused on his mission.

Tim picked the pen back off of the desk. He grabbed Conner’s arm and lined it up with his own. He took a deep breath before tracing a jagged line with the pen down Conner’s arm.

Nothing happened. Nothing appeared on Tim’s arm, nor did anything appear on Conner’s. Tim stared at the blank skin on both of their arms for a moment before lurching towards Conner’s desk to find a piece of scrap paper. Tim scribbled furiously on a sticky note that he found in the corner, trying to ensure that the pen was working. The ink flowed onto the paper, indicating that the pen was working properly.

Tim turned back to Conner and tried again, marking a jagged line down Conner’s arm. Again, nothing appeared on either of their skin. Tim stared for a moment, dumbfounded.

Conner wrenched his arm away from Tim’s grasp and pulled it close to his torso. “What exactly are you doing?” he asked.

Tim looked up meet Conner’s gaze, “I need to try one more thing.”

Tim could still see confusion in Conner’s bright, blue eyes, but there was an ever-increasing clarity. Conner was starting to figure out what Tim was doing, and it seemed like Conner was scared of what Tim might find.

“Conner,” Tim said, with as steady of a voice he could muster in the moment, “I need you to trust me.”

Conner hesitated for a moment, before holding out his arm once more.

“I trust you,” he said.

Tim took a breath as he dragged the pen down his own arm, drawing a dark, jagged line. Moments later, an identical line appeared on Conner’s arm.

Tim took a step backwards, the realization dawning in his mind. He brought a hand to his face, covering his mouth’s gaping expression. Conner had a similar expression on his face, eyes wide with shock.

“What. The. Hell?” Conner asked.

“You know what this means?” Tim said.

“Yes, I know what this means.” Conner replied, “I just, I don’t understand.”

Tim’s mind began whirring into overdrive, as this one crucial piece of the puzzle slid into place, explaining all of the moments of his life he had ever questioned. Conner was his soulmate. Conner wasn’t created until Tim was in his teens, which is explains why Tim had never gotten a response to any of his messages growing up. Conner was his soulmate. Conner’s invulnerability and TTK had kept him from being able to make marks on his skin with a pen, which is why Tim never saw any markings. Conner was his soulmate. The one time that Tim had “seen” a question mark written on his skin would have been back when Conner was still at Cadmus, which means it could’ve been some sort of experiment on Conner’s invulnerability back when he was still developing.

Conner was his soulmate.

Tim had a soulmate.

“How did you know?” both Conner and Tim asked at the same time. Their eyes met and for a moment, a heavy pause lingered between them before they both burst into incredulous laughter. A sense of disbelief and amazement washed over both of them, followed by a sense of warmth. It seemed though something had clicked into place that they hadn’t even realized was off before.

“You first,” Conner said to Tim once they had both stopped laughing.

Tim took a deep breath and explained everything to Conner. How Tim hadn’t ever gotten a response from his soulmate as a child, and the shame his parents imposed on him for it. How he had always had a bad habit of writing notes on his arms, so he devised his own code to keep his secrets from ever being revealed. How Tim threw himself into his work and had all but given up on ever having a soulmate.

Conner listened patiently, his gaze never wavering from Tim as Tim told his side of the story. When Tim explained the parts about feeling alone and ashamed for not having a soulmate, Conner put his hand on Tim’s shoulder, reassuringly.

Tim finished by explaining how the journal led him to believe it was possible they were soulmates.

“I wasn’t even close to certain, I thought it was about a 65% chance, but I had to test it and see,” Tim concluded.

“Wow dude. I don’t even know what to say,” Conner said, “I’m just sorry that you felt that way.”

“It’s all in the past,” Tim replied.

Conner frowned, “Still, I don’t like that you ever felt that way.”

Tim slid his hand into Conner’s, their fingers intertwining. “It’s alright,” Tim said, his eyes locking onto Conner’s. Tim could see a slight apprehension flicker across Conner’s eyes, as Tim had crossed them both into unknown territory. However, it lasted only the briefest of moments before being replaced with a look that Tim could only describe as soft.

“It’s your turn now,” Tim said, giving Conner’s hand a soft, reassuring squeeze.

Conner took a breath before starting his story, “I always knew about soulmates. Cadmus had implanted some general information in my head. I just assumed I never had one, because I was made in a lab. But then I noticed the random letters and numbers that would appear on my arm at random times. I started writing them down because I thought that they might be remnants of some Cadmus experiment. I didn’t understand them, but I thought they might be relevant later so I kept taking them down.”

“Sorry, they were just my notes,” Tim said.

“Well, I know that now,” Conner replied, “But honestly I’m glad they were your notes and not the result of some weird experiment.”

“Why did you stop writing them down?” Tim asked.

“It got difficult to keep up with. You write a lot of stuff,” Conner responded.

Tim grinned, “My bad.”

“Anyways,” Conner continued, “I did think at some point that it was possible that they were soulmate marks, so I tried to write on my arm. It didn’t work, so I just thought that my powers prevented me from writing on my skin, which would make it hard to ever find my soulmate if I even had one.”

“You could have mentioned that when I was testing out the pen earlier. I thought it might have been out of ink,” Tim said.

“You were kind of scary, dude,” Conner replied, “You were so focused. When you get like that, it’s best just let you do your thing.”

“Sorry,” Tim said, “And I keep interrupting you, go ahead.”

“There’s not much left to say,” Conner continued, “I just kind of assumed I didn’t have a soulmate. I dated around y’know, I dated Tana and I dated Cassie. Obviously, they were both great. They just didn’t feel right.”

“And what do you think now?” Tim asked, searching Conner’s eyes.

“I think,” Conner said as he moved closer into Tim’s space, causing Tim’s breath to hitch, “I think that we were both idiots for not figuring it out sooner.”

“Are you sure about this?” Tim asked.

“I wasn’t at first, but I am now,” Conner replied, “And you?”

“Yeah,” Tim breathed.

It was natural, the way they leaned further inward until they were close enough to inhale each other’s breath. Tim’s hands found Conner’s waist and Conner’s hands found Tim’s hair, his fingers curling around Tim’s dark locks.

The kiss felt like coming home after a long day at work, when both a sense of belonging and a sense of relief washes over you and everything feels alright with the world. It wasn’t hot or heavy, but sweet and comforting. Tim wanted to live in this moment forever, surrounded by Conner, feeling safe and fulfilled.

Conner was the first to pull away, his fingers loosening their grip on Tim’s hair. His hands slid down to Tim’s waist as they both held each other. They stayed like that for a few moments, drinking in each other’s presence.

“So, uh…what do we do now?” Conner asked, breathless.

Tim grinned, “Whatever we want to, I suppose.”

Conner paused for a second, his eyes wandering the room as he thought to himself. After a few moments, he turned his gaze back to Tim.

“Well, I kinda still want to play Smash,” Conner said.

Tim laughed, “You mean you want to get destroyed at Smash.”

“See that’s what you think, but I’ve been practicing,” Conner retorted as he let go of Tim. He grabbed a game controller for himself and handed another one to Tim.

“We’ll see if it pays off then,” Tim said as he took the controller from Conner.

They both took a seat on Conner’s bed as the game loaded on the screen. Tim leaned over and put his head against Conner’s shoulder. Tim felt Conner’s shoulder relax as Conner leaned his head onto Tim’s. Conner smelled nice, like clean laundry. Their free hands found each other, and their fingers intertwined once more.

They were going to be alright. They were going to be better than alright. Tim didn’t know what would happen next, but for the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful for the future.

But as for right now, in this moment in time, Tim was going to demolish Conner in Super Smash Bros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon is dead and I killed it.
> 
> I joke. But I definitely feel like my characterizations went out the window in this chapter despite my best efforts. This was my first time ever writing Tim or Conner or and DC comics fanfiction at all so, I did my gosh dang best. Also, I’m not used to writing sappy stuff so, I did my best there too. Feel free to leave comments or constructive criticism. I want to get better at understanding these characters so I can write them better.
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I had it like, 80% done and then a bunch of stuff popped up so I didn’t have time to work on it. It has been a long time since I actually finished a fanfic and thought it good enough to actually post. 
> 
> I just, Tim Drake (especially pre-New 52 Tim Drake) is my all-time favorite DC comics character and I just want to see him happy and not using “Drake” as his hero name because what the absolute fuck is that. And the Drake suit? What the fuck. My boy deserves better.  
> Sorry, I digress again. I love Tim like he’s my own son and I hope I did his character justice. I just want him to be happy. ;-;
> 
> Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


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